Musical instrument.



No. 808,374. PATENTED DEC. 26, 1905.

B. G. JAMES.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED APRIO, 1905.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 1.

No. 808,374. PATENTED B13026, 1905.

E. G. JAMES.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED APR.10,1905.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES INYENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1905.

Application filed April 10, 1905- Serial No. 254,632.

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN G. JAMEs, residing in South Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of WVisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Musical Instruments, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of musical instruments that are called dulcimers or piano-harps; and the improvements relate to means for strengthening the construction, while securing lightness in weight, and at the same time in improving the tone and music value of the instrument. The improvements also enable the instrument to be produced at a minimum of expense.

The invention consists of the instrument, its parts, and combinations of parts as herein described and claimed or the equivalents thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved instrument. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section thereof. Fig. 3 shows the iron frame that may be employed therewith. Fig. 4 shows a detail of bridge construction. Fig. 5 shows a detail of frame construction. Fig. 6 is a top plan of the iron auxiliary frame in position on the sounding-board and pin-blocks, and Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section thereof.

Instruments of this general character are provided with a case A, usually of wood, and that may be open. at the top or may have a lid serving as a cover to inclose the musicproducing parts.

The frame on which the strings are mounted consists of transverse pin-blocks 2, to which the sounding-board 3 is secured along the inner upper edges thereof and which sounding-board extends from one pin-block to the other pin-block, and tension-rods 41, secured at their ends to the pin-blocks 2 and medially passing under and supporting a strut 5. The tension-rods are provided with means for tightening them, which may consist of nuts turning by screw-thread on the ends of the rods against the rear edges of the pin-blocks. A plurality of these tension-rods maybe employed ,and ordinarily three of them will be suflicient, one near each edge of the frame and another between these two. The

strut 5 may be in the form of a rib or wall extending across the instrument beneath the sounding-board, against which it bears upwardly. A metal auxiliary frame may also be employed consisting of the plates 6 of a size and form adapted to rest on and be secured to the upper surface of the pin-blocks 2 and at their ends connected together along the edge of the sounding-board by side bars 7. This auxiliary frame maybe made of malleable iron or of steel. Inthe case supporting-blocks 8 are secured to the side walls of the case near their ends and at both sides, which supporting-blocks may extend to and rest on the bottom of the case, and the pin-blocks 2 rest on and are supported by the supporting-blocks 8.

In my improved instrument I preferably employ bass-strings as well as treble-strings, and these strings of the two classes I group in a manner peculiar to myself; but as the grouping of the strings forms no part of my invention I have not shown such grouping in the drawings. I do, however, show both bass-strings and treble-strings, the strings of each class being mounted or strung in a manner peculiar to that class of strings in my instrument, and this mounting of the strings is shown in such manner as to exhibit the feature of my invention which I desire to claim herein.

In the drawings, 9 represents the treblestrings, while the bass-strings are indicated by the numeral 10. All these strings are secured at one end to the pin-block at that end, conveniently byplugs or screws 11, and at the other end they are secured to the pin-block 2 by the turning pins 12, which are seated and turn in the pin-block, and 011 which pins the strings are wound, whereby they may be tightened to secure the proper tension or tone in the string. At each end there is provided a transversely disposed bridge 13, which bridge in each instance is in tubular form, preferably open at its ends, and is advisably made of steel, and is arranged to rest on the pin-block, and to prevent its displacement is advisably secured thereto by lugs 14,rigid to the bridge and fitting on the pin-block and secured thereto in each instance by a screw through the lug turning into the block. All the strings of the instrument pass over these two end bridges.

Between the end bridges 13 there is an intermediate treble-string bridge 1.5,which rests on the sounding-board, advisably directly above the strut 5, and extends across the sounding-board, and all the treble-strings 9 pass over and are strained on this bridge. The bridge is hollow or tubular and preferably is of a generally-triangular shape in cross-section, so that it has a wide and firm base to rest on the sounding-board, while the bearing of the strings on the top of the bridge is narrow and comparatively of slight width along the line of the string. I also provide a bass string bridge 16, located advisably near the end bridge and preferably at the right hand of the instrument, which bass-string bridge is also, like the treble-string bridge, hollow or tubular and generally triangular in crosssection, and both of these, as well as the end bridges 13, are advisably made of steel.

The bass-strings 10 pass over and are strained on this bridge 16, and these strings running thence toward the distant end bridge pass in apertures 17 therefor through the treblestringbridge. The bass-string bridge 1 6 is also provided with transverse apertures through which the treble-strings pass, the apertures through the bridges in both cases being of sul ficient size to permit the strings to pass unobstructed through the bridges and to permit them to vibrate freely without touching the bridges. As bass-strings are used only on one side of the instrument, the bridge 16 does not extend beyond where it is needed for the sup port of bass-strings.

Coverpieces 18 are placed in the case on the supporting-blocks 8 tofill up the space between the pin-blocks and the ends of the case on a plane with the pin-blocks.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a musical instrument, the combination with transversely-disposed pin-blocks and a sounding-board interposed between and secured to the pin-blocks, of tensionrods anchored to the pinblocl s, and a strut medially between the tension-rods and the sounding-board.

2. A frame for a musical instrument, comprising a sounding-board, pin-blocks at the ends of and secured to the soui'iding-board, tension-rods anchored in the pin-blocks, a strut interposed medially between the sounding-board and the tension-rods, and means for tightening the tension-rods.

3. A frame for a musical instrument, comprising a sounding-board, pin-blocks at the ends of and secured to the sounding-board, an auxiliary metal frame fitting on and secured to the pin-blocks and extending between the pin-blocks along at the edges of the soundingboard, tension-rods anchored in the pin-blocks, a strut interposed between the sounding-board and the tension-rods medially of the length of the tension-rods, and means for tightening the tension-rods.

4. A frame for a musical instrument, comprising a sounding-board, pin-blocks at the ends of and secured to the sounding-board, tension-rods anchored in the pin-blocks, a strut interposed between the sounding-board and the tension-rods, means for tightening the tensionrods, a bridge on and transversely of the sounding-board above the strut, and strings secured to the pin-blocks and strained over the bridge.

In a musical instrument, a soundingboard, means at the ends of the soundingboard for securing and straining strings over the board, transversely disposed tubular bridges open at their ends, and strings strained above the board and on the bridges, the strings having a bearing directly on the exterior surface of each tubular bridge on which they are strained.

6. In a musical instrun'ient, a soundingboard, pin-blocks at the ends of the sounding-board, transverse bridges at the ends of the soundingboard, intermediate transverse tubular treble and bass string bridges, and treble and bass strings strung and strained over the sounding-board and the bridges, the treble-strings passing in apertures therefor through the bass-string bridge and the bassstrings passing in apertures therefor through the treble-string bridge.

7. In a musicalinstrumenthaving a sounding-board, transverse tubular bridges on and at the ends of the sounding-board, the exterior outer wall longitudinally of each bridge being intact and closed forming a bearing for strings directly on the outer surface thereof.

8. In a musical stringed instrument, a sounding-board and a medially-located transverselydisposed metal tubular bridge on the soundingboard, the bridge being closed along its longitudinal outer surface furnishing an intact single bearing for strings directly thereon.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN G. JAMES.

Htnesses:

C. T. BENEDICT, ANNA F. SCHMIDTBAUER. 

